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1219 – It is related from ʿUmar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) that he delivered a sermon and said: “In the days of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ certain people were taken to task through revelation; now, however, revelation has ceased, and we shall henceforth hold you accountable only for what is outwardly apparent to us of your actions.” Reported by al-Bukhari (1).
Vocabulary of the ḥadith
• yuʾkhadhūn (يُؤْخَذون): from “ukhidha bihi yuʾkhadhu muʾākhadha” – to be taken to task, punished for a sin.
Points derived from the ḥadith
- ʿUmar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) made this statement publicly while he was Commander of the Believers; the people accepted it, so it attained the force of consensus and is fully consistent with the principles of the Sharīʿah.
- An additional proof for this principle is what al-Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Kathīr narrates in al-Irshād: a man testified before ʿUmar, and ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with him) said to him, “I do not know you; bring someone who knows you.” Al-Baghdādī transmits it with a sound chain.
- Shaykh Taqī al-Dīn (Ibn Taymiyyah) said: The report of an openly sinful person is not automatically rejected; rather, it requires verification and clarification, as the Exalted says: “If a wicked person comes to you with some news, verify it” (al-Ḥujurāt 6). Ibn al-Qayyim added: When a person’s deviance lies in belief yet he otherwise observes his religious duties, his testimony is accepted even though we judge him to be sinful—such as the innovators among the Khārijites, the Muʿtazilites, and the like. This is the explicit stance of the leading Imams.
- During his lifetime the Prophet ﷺ knew the hypocrites and informed certain Companions of their identities, among them Ḥudhayfah.
(1) Al-Bukhari, Sahih, hadith no. 2641.
١٢١٩ - وعَنْ عُمَرَ بْنِ الخَطَّابِ ﵁ أَنَّه خَطَبَ فَقَالَ: "إنَّ أُنَاساً كَانُوا يُؤْخَدونَ بِالوَحْيِ فِي عَهْدِ رَسُولِ اللهِ ﷺ، وإِنَّ الْوَحْيَ قَدِ انْقَطَعَ، وَإِنَّمَا نَأْخُذُكُمُ الآنَ بِمَا ظَهَرَ لَنَا مِنْ أَعْمَالِكُمْ" رَوَاهُ البُخَارِيُّ (١).
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* مفردات الحديث:
- يؤخذون: يُقال: أُخِذَ به يؤخذ مؤاخذة، والمؤاخذة: المعاقبة على الذنب.
* ما يؤخذ من الحديث:
١ - هذا الأثر من عمر بن الخطاب ﵁ قاله للنَّاس،، وهو أمير المؤمنين؛ فأقروه عليه، فصار مثل الإجماع، وهو موافق لقواعد الشريعة.
٢ - يدل على هذا الأصل ما رواه الحافظ ابن كثير في الإرشاد، من أنَّه شهد عند عمر رجلٌ، فقال له عمر ﵁: "لست أعرفك، فأتِ بمن يعرفك" رواه البغدادي يإسنادٍ حسن.
٣ - قال الشيخ تقي الدِّين: خبر الفاسق ليس بمردود، بل هو موجب للتبين والتثبت؛ كما قال تعالى: ﴿إِنْ جَاءَكُمْ فَاسِقٌ بِنَبَإٍ فَتَبَيَّنُوا﴾ [الحجرات: ٦]
قال ابن القيم: الفاسق باعتقاده إذا كان محافظاً في دينه، فإنَّ شهادته مقبولة، وإنْ حكمنا بفسقه؛ كأهل البدع من الخوارج، والمعتزلة، ونحوهم؛ هذا منصوص الأئمة.
٤ - كان النَّبي ﷺ في حياته يعرف المنافقين، فكان يخبر بهم بعض الصحابة، ومنهم حذيفة.
(١) البخاري (٢٦٤١).